Jan-Willem van Schaik

WASHINGTON, USA - To counter the rapidly increasing number of accidents with e-bikes, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has initiated a rulemaking proceeding. They have invited all industry stakeholders to comment on the risk of injury associated with mechanical hazards of e-bikes and plans to develop new standards to address these risks.

LONDON, United Kingdom - A remarkable sight in London's streets: ePack4 which surpasses other last-mile delivery innovators by doubling the standard payload to 350 kg and a capacity of 4 square meters.

BRUSSELS, Belgium - To draw attention to the impact of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures against made-in-China e-bikes, LEVA-EU hosted a meeting with the European Commission. According to LEVA-EU more than 40 company representatives and lawyers signed up for the meeting held on March 15.

AMSTELVEEN, the Netherlands - The age group 25-34 made up a bigger portion of all e-bike customers in the Netherlands in 2023 compared with 2022. In Germany e-bikes enjoyed a growing popularity among women and one-person households. These are just two of the findings of the annual e-bike monitor by market research institute GfK.

KOPRIVNICE, Czech Republic - Bicycle manufacturer Bike Fun International (BFI) has appointed René Gasser as its new CEO. He will take over the position on 1 April, although he has been working for BFI since 2009.

HEERENVEEN, the Netherlands - The appointment of the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Gijsbert van Zoeten is Accell Group's next step in an attempt to counter the financial challenges. The reorganization of the board of management was only communicated internally.

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - A huge increase in bicycle sales in China could not compensate for the weak demand of entry to mid-level products from both North America and Europe, reports Giant Group in its 2023 financial report. In this overview, the company reports an 16.4% decline in consolidated sales to TWD 76.95 billion (€ 2,23 billion).

WOKING, UK - The restart of VanMoof after the bankruptcy last summer had to come with a drastic change in strategy. VanMoof's new owner McLaren Applied subsidiary Lavoie, didn't give itself much time to study the best possible business model. Besides a revamped retail and service strategy, the company also restarted the supply chain of spare parts as well as the development of new components.

BERINGEN, Belgium - The Belgian Cycling Factory, owner of the brands Ridley and Eddy Merckx steps up its activity in the market with the appointment of industry veteran Eugene Fierkens. While Edward Vlutters returns back home. Fierkens will now take up the position of general manager strategy & business while Vlutters started as sales director in February.

BERLIN, Germany - Bicycle production and sales in Germany attained very high levels in 2023, comparable to the bicycle boom in 2020. Despite the generally negative consumer climate, sales value of bicycles and e-bikes combined in Germany only slightly decreased by 4% from €7.36 billion in 2022 to €7.06 billion last year.